Can you pay cash for tolls in Florida?

KrazeeK120

DIS Veteran

Joined

Feb 29, 2012

• Apr 18, 2015

• #1

I just booked a weekend trip to Disney for Memorial Day weekend.

We'll be flying into Sanford and so will be renting a car.

I know that the Florida highways are constantly changing. Can you still pay cash at tolls or do you have to do cashless?

I'm just not sure how this is going to work with the rental, if we're going to have to purchase some version of the Sun Pass from the rental company or if we can just pay cash.

Any help would be appreciated!!!

 

C

cedricandsophie

DIS Veteran

Joined

Apr 8, 2014

• Apr 18, 2015

• #2

Just pay cash. The Sun Pass from the rental company will charge you a service fee in addition to the actual tolls. It's very easy. I always bring some dollar bills and quarters to pay with. I wish Florida would coordinate with the rest of the tollways across the country. We often drive from illinois and have an Ipass that works across the country going east, through Indiana, Ohio, PA and even NY. But not in Florida.

 

OKW Lover

Retired and living 2 miles from The Castle.

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Joined

Apr 29, 2004

• Apr 18, 2015

• #3

If you are flying into Sanford and are only going to WDW, you'll pretty much just be on I-4 which is not a toll road. However, if you decide to take 417 to get to WDW, that is a toll road which has manned toll booths along the way.

 

Horace Horsecollar

DIS Veteran

Joined

Feb 10, 2002

• Apr 18, 2015

• #4

The answer to the topic question -- "Can you pay cash for tolls in Florida?" -- is "sometimes, but not always." It depends on where in Florida you're driving to.

There are areas around Miami where electronic tolling is a must if you use toll roads.

However, around Orlando, the major toll plazas all have attended "Change-Receipts" lanes that take cash (including paper money) and even make change. There are some entrances and exits that are unattended but take quarters (usually two or three quarters). As noted by OKW Lover, I-4 does not require tolls. The other major road that goes from Sanford to the WDW, FL-417, has attended "Change-Receipts" lanes; exit 6, the primary exit from FL-417 to WDW, does not require a toll.

Just be careful. The cash lanes on toll roads around Orlando often look like freeway exits. If you keep driving at freeway speed with the other traffic, you can find yourself going under an open road toll reader. There are big signs, but drivers get distracted and miss them.

If you decide to use your rental car company's electronic toll service, be aware that some require you to opt in (often providing you with a transponder) while others automatically opt you in if you use an electronic toll lane (relying on the rental car's license plate).

 

sharadoc

Visit WDW since '86, driving since '94.

Joined

May 6, 2008

• Apr 18, 2015

• #5

417 has exact change and regular cash lanes, usually they are on the right.

 

JustCor

DIS Veteran

Joined

Mar 7, 2015

• Apr 18, 2015

• #6

Depends. I've seen a few more Sunpass Only exits popping up around Orlando on a few trips up there. They're still not on the main exits, and probably won't be for a while, but if you're doing any kind of detouring and exploring, you may run across one or three of the Sunpass exits.

 

CPT Tripss

Registered

Joined

Feb 26, 2006

• Apr 23, 2015

• #7

cedricandsophie said:

Just pay cash. The Sun Pass from the rental company will charge you a service fee in addition to the actual tolls. It's very easy. I always bring some dollar bills and quarters to pay with. I wish Florida would coordinate with the rest of the tollways across the country. We often drive from illinois and have an Ipass that works across the country going east, through Indiana, Ohio, PA and even NY. But not in Florida.

Click to expand...

From what I read, you must buy the sun pass and then load it with money. Can't see FL joining the rest of the east coast when they can sit on the cash you loaded and then hope you forget about it when you are back in EZ PASS country.

 

bcuinohio

DIS Veteran

Joined

Jan 28, 2008

• Apr 24, 2015

• #8

I e-mailed the Central Florida Expressway Authority and asked about paying cash for tolls in the Orlando Area. I received the following response:

Hello Mr. XXXXX,

All toll roads in the Orlando area accept cash as a payment option. That being said, on- and off-ramp toll plazas require exact change in coins, so you might want to have a roll of quarters in the car with you.

Please let me know if I can answer any additional questions.


XXXX XXXXXXX
Central Florida Expressway Authority

 

Last edited: Apr 24, 2015

msb578

DIS Veteran

Joined

Nov 9, 2012

• Apr 24, 2015

• #9

CPT Tripss said:

From what I read, you must buy the sun pass and then load it with money. Can't see FL joining the rest of the east coast when they can sit on the cash you loaded and then hope you forget about it when you are back in EZ PASS country.

Click to expand...

Inter-operability is supposedly coming by next year. This will be in compliance with a law passed by Congress (tied to highway funding, the usual way of forcing compliance).

 

Last edited: Apr 25, 2015

CPT Tripss

Registered

Joined

Feb 26, 2006

• Apr 25, 2015

• #10

msb578 said:

Inter-operability is supposedly coming by next year. This will be in compliance with a law passed by Congress (tied to highway funding, the usual way of forcing conpliance).

Click to expand...

I'll keep looking for that.

 

klsurfer76

Earning My Ears

Joined

Nov 30, 2012

• Apr 26, 2015

• #11

bump. thankyou.

 

bumbershoot

DIS Veteran

Joined

Mar 5, 2007

• Apr 26, 2015

• #12

JustCor said:

I've seen a few more Sunpass Only exits popping up around Orlando on a few trips up there.

Click to expand...

Where are they?

 

JustCor

DIS Veteran

Joined

Mar 7, 2015

• Apr 26, 2015

• #13

bumbershoot said:

Where are they?

Click to expand...

I don't know the area well enough to pinpoint them. There two or three at Kissimee exits off of the Florida Turnpike, one or two on some of the smaller toll roads around the area (417 maybe?).

 

Horace Horsecollar

DIS Veteran

Joined

Feb 10, 2002

• Apr 26, 2015

• #14

The only SunPass-Only exit in the Orlando-Kissimmee metropolitan that I'm aware of is Exit 240 on Florida's Turnpike (Kissimmee Park Road). There's a southbound exit and a northbound entrance. Exit 240 is away from the usual tourists routes. Unless you are visiting someone who lives near that exit, you would have little reason to go there.

There are many other entrances and exits in the Orlando area without an attended toll lane, but there are still exact-change coin baskets for drivers who do not have SunPass. The mainline toll plazas on the toll roads give you a choice of SunPass, exact change, or attended "change-receipts" toll booths. Entrances immediately before mainline toll plazas and exits immediately after mainline toll plazas do not require an additional toll.